Tap water often includes impurities such as minerals, chlorine, particulates and other contaminants that effect the taste, odor, appearance and health quality of the water. To remove such impurities, water filtration devices are becoming increasingly utilized for filtering tap water. One approach utilized to filter impurities from water is to mount a water filtration device directly on the faucet. These faucet mount water filtration devices are often used in domestic applications such as in a kitchen sink or a bathroom sink for example. Faucet mount filtering devices have several advantages over other related types of water filtration devices that are not faucet mountable, such as under-the-sink water filtration devices which are stored in a cabinet. Such advantages of faucet mount filtration devices include low cost, ease of installation and the fact that hoses for communicating water to remote locations from the faucet are not necessary.
The common approach of prior faucet mount filtering devices includes the use of a tubular filtering cartridge disposed in a larger tubular filter housing. Unfiltered water surrounds the tubular filter cartridge and enters the filter cartridge from the cylindrical peripheral and flows radially inward to the center of the filter cartridge. Filtered water in center of the tubular filter cartridge is then discharged out an outlet for filtered water. The filter cartridge usually contains activated carbon material such as activated charcoal and is typically replaceable, being replaced after the filtering capacity is used up. To maximize the life span of the removable filter cartridge, faucet mount filtering devices also commonly have a valve assembly that allows the user to selectively obtain either filtered or unfiltered water from the filtration device. Filtered water is often selectively used for drinking and cooking applications while unfiltered water is often selectively used for such applications as cleaning.
Although there are several advantages of faucet mount water filtration devices, one disadvantage of prior attempts at faucet mount water filtration devices is that they are bulky and therefore interfere with other operations in the sink, particularly where space in the sink is limited. Moreover, the bulkiness is not aesthetically pleasing and diminishes other aesthetic features that are often specially designed into the sink or the faucet.